Nobody Deserves God's Grace.

Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.
Deuteronomy 9:6-7

Israel was blessed solely by the promise of God and not because the present generation had earned the gift of the Promised Land. It was clear that they could not be righteous under their own power. God was helping them by the gift of the Law, by the leadership of Moses, and by bringing them into the Land He covenanted to give to Abraham.

Any grace we are given by God rests solely in His nature and benevolence. It does not come because we earned it (Ephesians 2:8-10). God loves us while we are yet sinners (Romans 5:8). He did so with the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness. He does so with rebellious post-moderns who must look to the cross of Christ for forgiveness, perspective, and life.

I too am a rebel heart. I must not forget that. I must not think that I ever earned anything. Hell is what I deserve. Separation from God was my destiny. But mercy and grace were offered by Christ at the cross. I accepted it, and Christ's righteousness has been the only fitness that could take me to God.

- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

When God Sings

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

This verse gives an important insight into the heart of our saving God. God loves to be the God of deliverance and salvation. The precious promises found in this verse come after severe judgment and justice come among God's people. They would pass through a refining fire. Arrogant leaders and profane priests would be eliminated (Zephaniah 3:3-4). The humble and lowly would be left with an attitude of seeking the Lord (Zephaniah 3:12). Then salvation would work again among God's people.

I love the three ways this affects God. 1) He rejoices over the people whom He has saved and who now serve Him. Our salvation and service bring joy to the heart of God. 2) He will quiet the hearts of His people by His love. He enters into a relationship with us that brings peace and love into our troubled lives. He settles us down. 3) The wildest part of this is that God will break out in exultant, loud singing over our salvation! He sings over us. Imagine that! We worship Him in song in our humble praise, but God loudly sings over us when we are saved by Him. Salvation's joy is a duet, song by man and God!


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

"It is finished!" - triumph in the tragedy.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30

For the disciples this seemed like an ending, but for all of us, this was the beginning. The crucifixion was not just some horrifying injustice. It was not about man's cruelty to man. It was about God's love for mankind despite their cruel sin. And the world of humanity, represented by Roman authority and Jewish religiosity turned against God in a momentous sin. They crucified the Son of God. Yet, He gave up His spirit on His own. He would lay down His life of His own accord... freely.

It took these events to bring salvation. And the sins of the whole world, my own sins, were carried by Him to that cross and in His death I died. In the hours that followed, Jesus' body was lowered from that pain-filled cross and buried in a rich man's borrowed rock tomb. But on the third day... all the trauma turned to triumph.

His last cry from vinegar soaked lips was "It is finished!" And that is the first shout of victory that echoed three days later when His followers murmured unbelievably, "He is risen!" Christ's victory over sin and death came at a high price. And by faith I accept, living it at a high cost... offering my life in obedience to my Lord.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

Salvation & Judgment

Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

John 9:39

 

I am trying to understand this statement in the light of an earlier statement that Jesus made to Nicodemus. He has said that the Son came into the world NOT to condemn it, but to save it (John 3:17). How does that square with this statement? I believe the answer is found in the audience of each statement.

 

In John 3, Jesus is dealing with an inquisitive seeker who has come to Him to find questions answered about eternal life. And the salvific purposes of God for the world flow from that conversation. The world has the potential for salvation by Jesus. Generally, God’s grace is offered freely to the entire world. But some will receive it while many will reject Jesus.

 

The John 9 conversation (at least at the end of the chapter) is directed to those who have see Jesus testify to His deity. They have seen a man born blind testify to His deity. They have seen a man born blind testify to Jesus’ work and power. And they continued in blind unbelief because to change would destroy their incorrect theology. That is why judgment would come. They refused to accept their sinful beliefs. Even in this statement, Jesus makes it clear that blind people (those lost and spiritually dead who believed Him) would see, and those who thought they saw (spiritually self-righteous who refuse to repent) would be blinded by Him. That is the difference between John 3 and John 9.

 

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the claim that matters most

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24

 

This is a remarkable statement from Jesus. It is a claim that He makes that matters most to any person in the world. It states that a relationship with Him (obeying His word) is really belief in God the Father and leads to a new life and a new eternal destiny. He claims to be the only true path to spiritual peace (see also John 14:6), and this is very significant.

 

Jesus had just performed a miracle that had all of the Jewish authorities upset. He healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath and made a claim to use God’s power, asserting God’s preferences in the use of it (John 5:21). This was a clear demonstration of deity. He had physically renewed and enlivened this man on a day of rest and worship. And only God could do what they had just seen done, The scribes and Pharisees knew this. But they refused both to hear Jesus on the matter and to believe what they had just witnessed.

 

Jesus is the source of my life and my destiny is to always live with Him. It is a natural part of my life right now and is what eternity will be. The power of Christ that turned cripples into dancers, made the blind see the artistry of God’s world, brought music to deaf ears, and confronted the hard hearts of the religiously indifferent is at work in my heart and life forever! That is a pretty amazing experience… right now and forever.

 

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Springtime Nativity

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

 

This is John’s theological version of the Nativity story. It is about Incarnation. I think thoughts of Jesus entering this world just a few weeks removed from Holy Week reflections about His death and resurrection. But I am not limited to any strict liturgical church calendar guidelines when it comes to thinking about my Lord. And John’s gospel is good for breaking up the typical way of talking about Jesus (it was a purpose behind his writing). I can thin of the miracle of God come to us to redeem us at any time. Why not in spring, when the world is born again?

 

And I am filled with an awe. I remember the birth of both my children. How wonderful it is to hold a newborn (even though they are just little depraved sinners) and then to think of the perfect Son of God when He was a new arrival… God in a body, full of grace and truth! I find the thought alone just overwhelmingly beautiful!

 

So the wisdom of God’s plan of redemption is that it stirs us at this deep level. The Father’s glory touches my heart in the place where I am a father. That Jesus came at all is the greatest work that God has ever wrought into human history. I am proud of my kids and see them as my greatest work… how much more does the Father love the Son! That I have access to Him now by faith is the amazing privilege of being Christ’s disciple.

 

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between two thieves

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

Luke 23:33

The routine of Jesus’ execution was broken by enough interesting differences that people noticed something unique about Him. Even the hardened death-squad leader of the Roman crucifixion detail saw something he had never seen before and marveled at it (Luke 23:47). He had a religious experience on the death site that day.

Jesus was not the only person executed by crucifixion on that day outside Jerusalem. With him on the hill, condemned also to death, were two criminals. We know they were thieves, perhaps even guilty of a murderous robbery. And without a doubt, they knew they were guilty of their capital crimes (Luke 23:41). Jesus was dying differently.

The injustice of the scene is apparent. Jesus has been through a sham set of trials (Luke 22:54-57; 23:1-5; 23:6-17). He has been brought to Pilate under Roman jurisdiction just so the Jewish religious authorities can stick him with the death sentence they so desperately wanted for Him (Luke 23:18-25). Even Pilate admits he is doing an injustice to Jesus (Luke 23:22-24).

As Jesus is crucified, the humiliation only grows. His meager clothes are wagered away by a dice game among the soldiers. He is mocked. His claims of divinity and deliverance are laughed at derisively. He is ridiculed by the very sign tacked over His head, an ancient immaturity akin to Jr. High kids taping a “Kick Me” note on the back of their object of bullying. But the poignant words (“King of the Jews”) mean more than those mocking him realize at the time.

Back to those two thieves… They looked at all of this experience and typified two responses to the death and atoning work of Jesus that are still seen even today. One joined the mocking majority and added insult to the Lord. The other saw Jesus as the only means for his soul’s deliverance and cried out to Him for mercy (Luke 23:39-43). He went to heaven an executed criminal.

Jesus died between criminals because spiritually we are all criminals. We have all sinned and earned our sentence of death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Even on the day of His death, one thief accepted what only Jesus could do. Jesus took him to Paradise.

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Messiah Accepted.

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Zechariah 12:10

My observation from chapter 11 of this study in Zechariah was that the prophecy made it clear that the Messiah would experience rejection in Jerusalem. And of course, that is exactly what Jesus foretold and experienced. But chapter 12 shows us that even though He is struck down, He is eventually accepted by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is God’s doing. God pours out His Spirit of grace and the nation cries out for mercy. And when they see “him whom they have pierced” (identified in the first person as God in this context), they will respond with heartfelt mourning and repentance.

The acceptance of Jesus is gradual in this day and age. It comes by exposure to the gospel, one life at a time. It comes by God’s gracious calling and the convicting work of the Spirit in those hearts that come to Him. God knows what He is doing. And Jews and Gentiles alike are finding a Messiah and a Savior in Jesus.

I believe this passage describes a future day when the nation of Israel will suffer its most difficult times. The response at the end of those times will be to turn to Messiah Jesus at His return. He is the one “whom they have pierced” (see John 19:31-37 where those who pierced Jesus’ side were Roman soldiers acting at the request of the Jewish authorities. Really we all are complicit). And the nation will come to Him as one nation, accepting the Messiah Who is the Savior of the world.

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The Humble King

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Jesus fulfilled this prophecy (Matthew 21:1-5) when He entered Jerusalem on the week of His passion. Zechariah is one of the most Messianic of the Old Testament prophets, containing prophecies that are relevant to the first advent and to the future coming of Christ. It is a fascinating book for this reason alone.

What is remarkable in this passage is the humility of the deliverer who rides into Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem has been conquered numerous times. It is an ancient city filled with a history of war and subjugation. But Jesus is pictured differently. He is not pictured as a war general on a tall stallion parading His troops in a spectacle of captured prisoners. Instead, He is the humble, righteous king who brings salvation with him as He is carried alone through the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. The focus is on the salvation He brings in His person.

Other war generals have always focused on military deeds, but Jesus is seen as salvific in person, not just in command of an army or human power. There is no need for a show of power and troops. He is the power. He brings salvation in Himself. This humble king was different than any other king who ever lived. And He came into Jerusalem to give His life for the world. I can rejoice in my salvation today because Jesus rode triumphantly into the Holy City so long ago knowing that Calvary was His objective. And there, He would bring about the greatest victory against the worst foe of mankind. For in defeating sin and death, He made His believers more than conquerors through Him Who loved us!

Technorati Tags: Zechariah,Salvation,Messiah,Triumphal Entry

a mockery

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.”

Mark 15:29-31

When I read the crucifixion accounts, this is the part of the story that tears at me the most. Human nature resorts to cruel treatment of others as a matter of course. But to have the very Son of God treated with such contempt. scorn, and mockery is the ultimate human insult to God.

I am by nature a selfish person. And when that meets my sarcastic sense of humor, watch out. I can say some pretty mean stuff. I suppose that is why reading this part of the story impacts me. Outside the grace of God, I would probably react similarly. I am a wicked man in need of the salvation that Jesus brings at the cross. In a sense, many objectors to the Christian faith do the same kind of mocking today. Jesus is mocked by secularists, the faith is maligned as anemic and a psychological crutch by the intellectual guardians of our humanist culture. The mocking continues at every level when Christians themselves are maligned for the sake of the gospel.

The real power of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ death is that Jesus was taking upon Himself the guilt of the very mockery that was happening to Him at the moment. He was dying for the sarcastic ridicule heaped upon Him. He was suffering in order to offer forgiveness for the very acts they were doing as He way dying. No wonder we call it “amazing grace”! This is why He could graciously pray, “Father, forgive them…”

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In Your Dark Day

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:45-46

As the sky went black
and as mockers laughed
You died for me
breathing your last

As all around
people joked and stared
You felt all alone
hanging there

And in God forsaken pain
My sin borne upon Your cross
Guilt weighed down Your soul
Innocence suffered my loss

Forgiving to the last
You yielded Your life
to reconcile God and man
and end the strife

They pulled Your body down
and carried it to a grave
but death would not win
because You came to save

In Your dark day
My victory won
a temporary grave
would not hold God's Son

And a bright morning came
to bring eternal dawn
breaking forth in my heart
Over death You have won.

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The cross was no accident.

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed.
Matthew 17:22-23

Jesus was aware of His redemptive purposes. His crucifixion was no accident. It was the plan of the Father that He accepted and knew was coming. This was NOT going to be easy for His disciples to undergo, and with this warning, Jesus has spoken of it twice according to Matthew's account. And it caused a stir among His men.

The ESV Study Bible notes seem to show us that the stir was created by the new information that Jesus would "be delivered into the hands of men", indicating a betrayal from among His own ranks. This would make sense, because when the hour did come, the disciples fled in fear, making them all disloyal to some degree or another. But the distress at hearing their Master say these things must have had the entire entourage of the twelve talking.

Jesus, however, did not seem distressed at this point. His prophetic warnings seem more to prepare the disciples then to protect Himself from this purpose. It was love that was driving His heart and His life. And it was love that would give Himself over to the redemptive plan of God. It was love that would let sinful men take a holy God to public torture and execution. And it was love that would bear the sin of the world as the Lamb of God.

Lord Jesus,
You were never surprised by the cross. You saw it as the goal of all You wanted to give us. And I know that I can only receive and contemplate that love, hoping that someday I might appropriate enough of it to love just a little like You do!
Amen

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